It’s been six months since Alan Kurdi washed up on Greek shores and shocked the world into an outraged uproar of stunned Facebook statuses and shocked, shared photos and videos.
Yet six months later the internet is awash with people’s dinners and videos of stupid cats. Where have people’s sense of anger and indignation gone? Now that time has passed the media frenzy has died down and the crisis is no longer filling up our telly screens people seem to have forgotten the reality of what’s really happening within the refugee crisis.
For example, on the very innocuous January 26th a majority vote in the Danish Parliament ratified an extensive tightening of Danish asylum laws, in an attempt to make Denmark a less attractive destination for refugees and immigrants. One of these attempts is Bill L87 which extends the mandatory waiting period for the right to family reunification from one to three years, cuts asylum seekers’ financial support by 10 percent and shortens residency permits for future seekers of asylum in Denmark.
(Photo Credit: www.guardian.com)
And then there’s the icing on the cake. Imagine a place that allows its police officers the right to confiscate refugees of their most valuable items, take away whatever they have brought with them and strip them of what little they have left. Doesn’t seem right does it? Yet once you allow someone to strip another human being of all their earthly possessions, you are effectively stripping them of their human rights.
Yet this is the reality for most refugees right now. The unmistakable message can be seen as clearly as the light of day: Don’t come here. Don’t come to Denmark. Whilst Sweden and Germany have tried to embrace the growing number of refugees, Denmark’s newly enforced policies are making life for refugees even more limiting and unlivable.
(Photo Credit: www.huckmagazine.com)
It’s a sobering reminder that one in four people fled the war in Syria and still these people are struggling to re-establish their lives. Warsan Shire writes in her poem “Home”: “no-one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.” These words are a chilling reminder of the unthinkable choices that have had to be made by the refugees, yet parts of Europe are still unwilling to open their borders. Refusing to allow refugees in does not solve the problem. Clearly the refugee crisis is here to stay and it can’t be brushed under the carpet.
However there are ways to try and help, here in Bristol. There’s the charity Refugees in Action which you can donate money to or volunteer for. Bristol Refugee Rights are also another brilliant charity which do incredible work. The charity is currently looking for volunteers, especially within their kitchen team. There’s also a fundsurfer called Calais Refugee Solidarity Bristol which is looking for donations and supplies to transport to the camp in Calais.
It seems absurd that David Cameron is debating whether or not to let 3000 refugee children into the country. Let’s not allow our humanity to exist only online, behind screens and Facebook shares, likes, tweets and posts.